Chapter 732: Dialogue
The Daimyo of Western Ueno, Hidaki of the Shirakaba family, spent a good while cuddling with his daughter Naea before finally remembering that there were outsiders present.
So, he cleared his throat twice, pretending to be stern, and glared at Ian, Marco, and the others, saying, "So it's you, is it? The pirates from the outer seas mentioned in Naea's letter?"
Before setting out, Naea naturally had to inform her father, so she had sent a samurai ahead with a letter. Hidaki only learned from that letter that Naea was returning early, which was why he had rushed to greet her.
All along the way, Hidaki had been worried that these pirates from the outer seas might have ill intentions toward his daughter. That was why, when everyone saw him, he had so many troops behind him.
But now, seeing Naea safe and sound, Hidaki felt much more relieved.
Still, he grumbled unhappily, "So you're the ones who convinced my daughter to return early, huh? Hmph, a bunch of barbarians with no manners! Men!!"
At his command, the large group of soldiers behind him immediately raised their weapons, surrounding Ian and the others, waiting for Hidaki's order to capture the three of them.
However, just then, Naea's crisp voice suddenly rang out, "Father! Stop!"
Under Hidaki's bewildered gaze, Naea jumped down from the palanquin, stood in front of the soldiers, shielding Ian and the others behind her, and shouted, "Father, do you want our capital to be destroyed like the Kozuki family's!?"
"Wha... what do you mean!?" Hidaki was stunned.
Naea stepped forward, leaned close to Hidaki's ear, and whispered Ian's background.
After hearing it, Hidaki's eyes nearly popped out!
He had originally thought that Ian and the other two pirates were just some low-level scoundrels from outside, trying to trick his daughter into scamming some money from him. So, at first, Hidaki only planned to have them arrested.
But... Naea's words shocked him!
Luckily, Bonney had told Naea about Ian's identity earlier on the palanquin...
He certainly knew what kind of figure a Yonko was, but he also suspected that these pirates might have made up lies to deceive Naea. However, as Hidaki's expression flickered while he studied Ian and the others, he noticed that they faced the thousands of glaring soldiers without changing their expressions at all, exuding an utterly composed demeanor. This made him uncertain.
At that moment, Ian stepped forward and said, "Alright, have your soldiers lower their weapons. For the sake of being Naea's father, I'll let this slide."
"You... who exactly are you?" Hidaki asked, his voice filled with shock and suspicion.
"Hmph!" Bonney pointed proudly at Ian and then at Marco, saying, "Standing before you is the newly ascended Yonko who took down the BIG MOM Pirates, Black Dragon Ian! And this one is the First Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, Phoenix Marco! Even if Wano Country is closed off, as one of the Daimyos, you can't possibly be completely unaware of the situation, can you?"
Hidaki's expression turned serious as he carefully studied Ian.
As Bonney said, even if Wano Country was isolated, Hidaki, as a member of the ruling class, couldn't be completely ignorant of the outside world. Especially recently, after the Shogun used Kaido's power to crush the Kozuki family, the term "Yonko" had become a sensitive topic among all the Daimyos.
The long-established Whitebeard Pirates needed no introduction, and Ian, as the newly risen Yonko, had gradually become known to Wano's upper echelons. The Shirakaba family's ninjas had already gathered newspapers from some pirates.
So, after studying Ian for a while, Hidaki finally matched him with the demonic figure from the newspapers...
Then, Hidaki gasped sharply!
Cold sweat immediately dripped down his face, and he realized they were in trouble!
One Yonko, Kaido, wasn't enough? Now another Yonko had shown up!? No, it should be two—Phoenix Marco surely represented the Whitebeard Pirates!
Fortunately, as a member of the ruling class, Hidaki had seen some of the world. After calming down, he took a deep breath, glanced at the bewildered soldiers around him, and said seriously to Ian and Marco, "This isn't the place to talk. Please, follow me!"
Some samurai brought three horses for Ian, Marco, and Bonney to ride. Then, the procession set off again, but this time, it was led by Hidaki himself, escorted by over a thousand troops.
Swaying along, Ian and the others soon followed the procession into the capital of Western Ueno, "Yo." The city seemed quite lively, with low houses and shops, but the architecture was distinctive.
The streets were bustling with people, mostly men, and samurai with long swords at their waists could often be seen moving through the crowd. Their topknot hairstyles stood out prominently among the masses.
There were also women in the crowd, but they usually kept their heads down and hands folded, maintaining a respectful posture as they followed behind the men, step by step. Their faces were either veiled or masked, half-hidden, and their clothes were wrapped tightly...
When the procession appeared, people on both sides of the street quickly moved aside. Commoners and women bowed humbly to the procession, while only those dressed as samurai could stand tall and gaze directly at it.
"I don't know why, but this feels really annoying!" Bonney suddenly grumbled angrily.
Marco rode beside her and chuckled softly, "Quite a difference from the free and open atmosphere outside, huh?"
Ian didn't say anything. The country's customs were what they were, and he had no opinion to offer.
Still, he felt that Robin and Reiju's sexy, stylish way of dressing was much better. The women of Wano Country didn't spark any interest in him at all...
After passing through several streets, the procession finally arrived at the Tenshukaku they had seen earlier. It was a tall, Japanese-style castle with thick stone walls at the base, and the main structure was built on top of these walls. It seemed the castle also served as a fortress to defend against enemies.
As the Daimyo of Western Ueno, the Shirakaba family naturally resided in this Tenshukaku. On the tower, Ian saw the Shirakaba family crest—a pattern shaped like nine stars, with a central circle formed by three spinning magatama, surrounded by eight identical circular magatama. (This pattern is based on the Nagao family crest from Japan's Warring States period; just take it as is.)
After leading Ian and the others into the Tenshukaku, Hidaki brought them to a large room inside, where they sat down to talk.
Naea didn't leave but stayed with her father. For safety, several masked ninjas were kneeling in the room, but Ian and the others didn't mind.
Hidaki and Naea both sat formally in the seiza position, but Ian and his group weren't used to it, so they simply sat cross-legged. A veiled maid served them tea and snacks, then backed out carefully. After she left, Hidaki sighed and said, "Our Wano Country is truly in turbulent times..."
"Your Shogun used the Beast Pirates' power to suppress a Daimyo in your own country. Didn't the other Daimyos raise any objections?" Ian asked in return.
"What good would objections do?" Hidaki said with a bitter smile. "Do you think no Daimyo supported the Shogun's actions? Among the seven Daimyos, four are on the Shogun's side. Add the Beast Pirates to that, and the Shogun's power was already dominant..."
"Alright, we outsiders shouldn't meddle in your internal affairs," Ian waved his hand. "Princess Naea should have mentioned in her letter why we're here..."
"Yes, she did!" Hidaki glanced at Naea with a doting look, then turned back to Ian seriously. "You're here to aid the Kozuki family, aren't you?"